A little more than four years ago, I interviewed journalist Will Leitch to debut this web site! This week, let’s revisit my conversation with him for two reasons: First, Will offered some great insights. Second, I expect to be starting a new personal development venture within weeks. It will feature the interviews you’ve come to expect as well as expanded benefits to help you on your dream journey.

Dreaming Made Simple will be your dream destination for practical strategies and resources to help make your dreams happen!

Sam Miller: What is your dream?

Will Leitch: All I ever wanted to do was write for a living. More accurately, all I ever wanted to do was to write about things that I care about. For me to have the opportunity to write about what I want in a lot of different places, it is a dream. My dream is to be able to keep doing this as long as I can. It’s not so simple as “OK, you made it. You’re all done now.” I have to keep working hard to sustain that.

Sam Miller: When did you realize you were living your dream?

Will Leitch: If you had told me six years ago, “Will, you’re going to be able to do a movie site with your friend Tim [Grierson]; you’re going to be able to write for New York magazine, one of your favorite magazines; and you’re going to be able to write a big story about Michael Vick for GQ,” I would have been like “Holy crap, I’m living the dream.” Once you’re actually doing it, it’s just work, which is good. I think people have a bad connotation with work. They equate work with job. I like to work. That’s what gets me up in the morning.

Sam Miller: What are the steps you’ve taken to get where you are?

Will Leitch: A large percentage of everything that happens for anyone is luck. You make your own luck, don’t get me wrong. Once you are given an opportunity, you have to take advantage of it. As it happened, Hugo Lindgren was a deputy editor at The New York Times Magazine. (He now runs the Magazine.) He stumbled across one thing I had written at The Black Table and was like, “Hey, this is kind of funny. I’ll e-mail this guy and see if he wants to do something.” That was absolute luck. The funny thing was I got assigned a huge story, a big huge story, that to be honest I am not sure I was quite ready for, but I worked my ass off on it. It was luck that he even stumbled across me in the first place. On the one hand, he did come across the story. On the other hand, I also wrote a million other things that he did not just stumble across. People misunderstand luck. They think, “That person’s just lucky.” No, you have to put yourself in a position to be lucky.

The first step was deciding that this was what I was going to do. I don’t know if I had necessarily decided that when I moved to New York. I think I knew it in college, but there is a difference in knowing what you want to do and to be, like “I’d do this forever even if I die.” I remember a lot of people in my journ program or different English programs that wanted to be writers, wanted to be journalists. They’d say, “I’ll give this [career] until I’m 27 or 28, then I’m going to law school.” Well, in my opinion, you’ve already lost when that happens. I remember a conversation that me and [Deadspin editor, A.J. Daulerio] had. I was 26, he was 27, and we were both really struggling. We had a friend of ours who was a lot older than us. He was not doing well with his career. We thought, “He was a failure. Are we willing to be failures?” We both decided yes. We were willing to have it not work because we wanted to do it and believed in it.

I think that’s the most important thing – to be willing to go down with the ship. You can’t look for an escape hatch.

If my wife had met me in 2003, I was the biggest loser you could find. I could barely afford rent, I had a crap job, I was writing for free, I was a mess. But I knew what I wanted to do eventually, so I had to put in the work and hope that I caught a break and, if I did, to take advantage of that break.

Sam Miller: What lessons have you learned?

Will Leitch: The main one is not to get distracted and not to give up. I find a lot of people act like a job is owed to them, or they deserve it, or they’re special. A lot of the people who have a really hard time are people who are not ready to deal with setbacks.

A lot of people want to be writers but they don’t realize that requires a ton of work. I don’t think there’s a mystery to it. I think people want there to be. I know a lot of people who love the vision of themselves as writers, but really, you’re committed to it or you’re not.

You don’t even want to know how many years my parents thought, “Why is he in New York? What is he doing there? We send this kid to college, and he’s working in a doctor’s office. What a waste of time this was.” I was a total failure for a long time.

Sam Miller: What’s next?

Will Leitch: All I want to do is to keep doing this and to make it work with my life. I want to be able to do the things I want to do while making sure it doesn’t take away from the things I need to be as a husband and a father. That’s my next goal, to figure that out.

There’s no point where you hit a finish line. That’s something I didn’t realize when I was 25 or 26. I always thought I’d hit a point where I made it. You never hit it.

Thanks for reading! Keep watching this space for more interviews like this one and for more about Dreaming Made Simple

Miriam González is the founder of the Inspiring Women campaign, a UK-based organization that gives girls in school opportunities to hear from female role models who cast vision for their futures.

This week on Sam’s Dream Blog, González, named an Influential Educator by Noodle, shares about the importance of mentors, giving back and seizing opportunities on the dream journey.

Sam’s Dream Blog: What’s your dream for the Inspiring Women campaign? How did your dream originate? How has it evolved?

Miriam González:My dream is that every girl in the UK, and then in every country, realizes that they are free to shape their lives, that the only constraints they face should be the extent of their own effort, and that there are lots of women out there ready and willing to help them.

I would like to see the Inspiring Women campaign expand abroad, and I would simply love convincing UN Women to support the campaign worldwide.

I started the Inspiring Women campaign in 2013. I have always been passionate about gender issues, but it wasn’t until I had been myself subject to many labels in the public eye that I realized I should speak up publicly about the remaining sexism in our societies. I believe in women speaking up and talking to the next generations of women. That is what the Inspiring Women campaign is all about.

Also, I had read an interesting survey conducted by Girlguide in the UK, saying that more than 55 percent of girls aged 11-21 years old don’t think they have enough access to female role models. So I thought, “That is ridiculous, there are thousands of great women out there. Let’s just bring them to schools where the girls cannot miss them!”

And that is precisely what we do. We ask volunteers to give one hour per year to go back to school to talk about their life, their career, their choices… In two years, we have gotten nearly 20,000 wonderful volunteers from all backgrounds within the UK, and we have reached 500,000 girls at state schools across the country.

Now, we are about to launch the campaign internationally, and we do hope that the U.S. joins us soon!

SDB: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Miriam González: Being able to start the Inspiring Women campaign is one of the things I feel most proud of. I feel very privileged for having had the public exposure (thanks to my husband’s role as the UK Deputy Prime Minister the last five years) that has allowed me to set up the Inspiring Women campaign and have such big success.

SDB: What have been the biggest obstacles or challenges to realizing your dream? What advice do you have for others in pursuit of their dreams?

Miriam González: I have had many dreams throughout my life and my career, but I never had a plan. There is not a clear path for everyone, and we all have ups and downs. The most important thing is to aim high and keep trying, no matter what. I have always worked hard – I still do work hard – and I have taken most of the opportunities I have found on my way.

Editor’s Note: This was originally posted last year, but it rings just as true a year later.

Wow, have we reached that point already? It’s Dec. 22, and you know what that means. Three sleeps till Christmas. All the excitement about this most festive time of year caused me to think about when I was younger. For weeks, there would be a pile of presents in front of our family Christmas tree. Many of the gifts had my name on them! Hopefully you can look back now with similar memories.

These days, the gifts I really want usually can’t be wrapped in a box – The best gifts at this age are either people or experiences. You know what I mean by experiences? I mean hopes and dreams.

Let me share a thought with you. What if our hopes and dreams are like those presents under the tree? What if there are hopes and dreams with my name on them, with your name on them, that are securely yours? It’s simply a matter of time before you are able to open them. How would that change your perspective on dreams, if you knew you were all but guaranteed to get specifically what you hoped for, or better? For example, did you ever ask for a piece of a Lego set for Christmas, only to get the whole set instead? Imagining dreams as Christmas presents sparks me to dream bigger and to keep dreaming where I have perhaps hit the pause button. How about you?

Brad Webster is brand strategist/ creative director at Webster Branding Strategy & Design. This week, on Sam’s Dream Blog, Brad shares about the importance of planning, taking risks and having right beliefs during the dreaming process.

Sam’s Dream Blog: What’s your professional dream?

Brad Webster: To propel people, give them an opportunity to step into their own calling. Some of the best ways I can do that emotionally is to encourage people and continually call out their potential. Practically I can be a person who provides opportunity. So basically, my professional dream is to hire people with potential, give them an opportunity to do what they love and earn a good income.

SDB: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Brad Webster: Some highlights are putting on a benefit concert for the Costa Rican rainforest when I was younger. I had some connections and brought in Anthony Kiedis, who is the lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers… I used to be a sponsored snowboarder, so getting on the Airwalk snowboard team in ’97 was cool… Also I was a snowboard coach and coached two of my kids to national championships.

SDB: What have been the biggest obstacles or challenges to realizing your dream? What advice do you have for others in pursuit of their dreams?

Brad Webster: The main thing is follow through. When we have a dream, we almost always imagine that dream in full glory, but it’s quite a process to slog through the initial start-up part. There are details we never thought about, as well as road blocks and disappointments.

Often money can be an obstacle, and right now, for me, that is. What I am learning, and the advice I would give others, is to make a plan. Pretend you have the money sitting there and then make your plan. It needs to be a real plan, not just a pretty plan for investors, one that you will actually execute. At the end of the day, the ones leading any conversation will be the people who actually did it – whether it’s a bad movie or a good movie, a book, a business idea, whatever. If you don’t do something, there will be nothing to talk about, only what others have done.

SDB: What steps have you taken to get to where you are presently?

Brad Webster: Easy: risk. At the end of the day, you can plan all you want, but at some point, you have to step off the end of the dock. You have to push away and actually try it. It was scary to leave a steady paycheck, and it’s always a risk. Any dream you have is a risk inviting you to push the envelope in some area. Otherwise it wouldn’t feel so appealing or enticing. That is one step.

Another is having a plan. A third is having people believe in you. You need people to push you on when you don’t know if it’s possible anymore. I needed to know my wife backed me in my risk. Having people run with you is really, really important.

Wealth is not about money. Wealth is about influence. It is that simple. When you believe that you are powerful and you can make a positive difference in the world around you by going after your dreams, you move forward. When we move forward and bring change, we create momentum for ourselves and hope in others that change is possible.

If you ever speak to a homeless person, they may have definitely had some bad things happen, but the difference is they have lost their belief that they can influence or change the situation. They think if something in the system was changed, or somebody else would make a decision to help them, then things would be different. They basically have lost their influence on their own life. They believe they have 0% influence and the cold, hard world has 100% over them. But it’s just a deception. It’s a wrong belief. So always believe that you can do something to make a difference.

You pursuing your dream will bring personal fulfillment to you as well as release the potential for others to be inspired by you, and go after their own. Others will see them, and it creates a strong ripple effect. You can do it!

Thanks for stopping by Sam’s Dream Blog!

]]>http://samsdreamblog.com/2015/12/brad-webster-making-your-mark/feed/0http://samsdreamblog.com/2015/12/brad-webster-making-your-mark/Thankfulness: The Game-Changerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/samsdreamblog/~3/E6aff_St_QY/
http://samsdreamblog.com/2015/11/thankfulness-the-game-changer-4/#commentsTue, 24 Nov 2015 16:14:09 +0000http://samsdreamblog.com/?p=1916Some might think it’s easy to be thankful this time of year. There is delicious food, magical sights, holiday parties, days off work. The list goes on. But maybe you don’t have any of that to enjoy.

Choose to be thankful anyway. No matter what is going wrong, my guess is you have something or some things going very right. Do you have food and shelter? Those are two big items right there.

Two blessings I’ve been particularly thankful for this year are friends who provide a safe place to grow in my gifting/strengths and their encouragement to pursue my dreams. As Walt Disney said, “All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” You will be reading more about that in an upcoming post. For now, a special thanks to Matt and Blair for their leadership and business expertise. Thanks, too, to Ray, who has helped me get free from some limiting beliefs so that I am freer than ever to go after my dreams and to help you with yours!

What do you have to be thankful for?

Thankfulness is a game-changer. Writing down what you are thankful for is particularly powerful. My outlook changes dramatically when I do that. Give it a try!

My Parents and Me

Here is my list of things I am thankful for, related to my dreams, along with some questions to get you thinking:

1. My God, my friend – Have you made Him your friend?

2. My parents – What things have your parents done for you that you take for granted?

3. My extended family and close friends – Who do you allow in your inner circle? Why?

4. My pastors and mentors – Who can provide you with unbiased counsel and opinions?

5. My elder and younger friends – Who can you take lessons from and to whom can you show the way? Also, keep in mind, people are watching you. Have you asked them what they see? Don’t assume.

6. My buddies and female friends – Who is helping you become a better man or lady?

7. My longtime friends and new friends – I’m living in an environment that attracts people from all over the world. Interacting with different cultures makes me come alive unlike anything else. What’s more, no matter where I go from here, I’ll always have friends all over the world. How cool is that?! Who is someone you should befriend? At the same time, few things are better than striking up a conversation with an old friend. Which old friend have you called lately?

8. Doubters – We all have had people say there’s no way we would succeed with something, only to prove them wrong. Who is a doubter you have disproved?

9. People who have made mistakes – I’m a firm believer that you can learn something from everyone. That may mean that you do what they didn’t do or vice versa. Of course, you may fall into this category at one time or another. That’s OK. Let someone take a positive away from your negative.

10. Freedom – I am thankful to live in the USA. What’s more, lately I have experienced new-found freedom – freedom to be fully me, freedom to take more risks, freedom to not have all the answers along the way, freedom to try new things – What freedoms are you thankful for? What freedoms do you take for granted?

At this point, I think you get the idea. It takes other people to make a dream a reality. Who did I forget on my list? What does yours look like? Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you, Sam’s Dream Blog readers!

John ZuHone is an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. This week, on Sam’s Dream Blog, John shares about realizing a childhood dream, pushing through doubt and endurance on the dream journey.

Sam’s Dream Blog: What’s your professional dream? How did your dream originate? How has it evolved?

John ZuHone: My professional dream was to do something with outer space. I think it started when I was a child. I loved to read, so my family bought me books on all kinds of subjects. One book (which I still have!) was on the planets. I was hooked. I begged for a telescope, and at age six, I got one. We lived out in the middle of nowhere, so it was easy for me to see the night sky.

For the longest time I said I was going to be an astronaut (most kids do at some point). As the years went on, I found myself most interested by the science behind what was going on beyond our planet. Eventually, I decided that I would become an astrophysicist. I also enjoyed computers growing up. Little did I know that they would become an essential part of my job–running computer simulations of what’s going on in the universe.

SDB: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

John ZuHone: I am mainly a theoretician, in other words, someone who thinks about how the universe works and formulates theories to explain what we see. However, very soon I will have the opportunity to use the Chandra X-ray Observatory, an X-ray telescope orbiting the earth, to observe a cluster of galaxies. It is kind of hard for me to believe sometimes that I get the privilege of using a real observatory that is sitting out in space to do real science.

SDB: What have been the biggest obstacles or challenges to realizing your dream? What advice do you have for others in pursuit of their dreams?

John ZuHone: Often, the biggest obstacle has been myself. Self-doubt, the idea that I couldn’t hack it, that it was foolish for me to keep going because I wasn’t cut out for it–those were things I had to overcome. Gaining the confidence that I was truly able to achieve the goals I had set out for myself, with the support structure that my family, friends, and faith gives me, is what got me to where I am.

To anyone who is pursuing their own dream, I have the following bits of advice:

* Know the difference between giving up (which you don’t want to do) and realizing that your goals may have shifted from where you thought they were originally. As you move forward, you may find that other things inspire you, that you are interested in other things than what you had set out originally. That’s not a sign of failure. It just means you have moved on to something else. And that can be exciting.

* Other people are important. No one ever gets anywhere in life without help from someone else. This includes your family and your friends, but also people you meet along the way. You never know how the connections you make with others will benefit you down the road. And the way you show gratitude for that is by paying it forward–someday you will get a chance to give someone else a leg up when they need it. It’s also very humbling–knowing that making the world run, working for things like justice and knowledge and beauty and everything else that’s good, takes teamwork. We’re all in it together.

SDB: What steps have you taken to get to where you are presently?

John ZuHone: First, it was lots of school. 10 years, in fact, counting both college and graduate school. That’s how long it takes (give or take a year or two) to get a Ph.D.. After that, you spend time building your research career, doing what we call “postdoctoral research.” I’m currently nearing the end of that part of my career, transitioning into something more permanent. But a lot of the education that you need to excel in this area, as in many, is self-taught and self-sought. The classroom is very important, but some of the most important things you will ever learn are not taught in the classroom. You only learn by doing them, and usually doing them wrong a few times before getting it right. In that sense, I am still learning.

Andrew Skurka is an adventurer and guide, best-known for his solo long-distance backpacking trips. In total, he has backpacked, skied, and packrafted 30,000+ miles through many of the world’s most prized backcountry and wilderness areas.This week, on Sam’s Dream Blog, Andrew shares about his dream journey, including the preparation and endurance required.

Sam’s Dream Blog: What’s your professional dream? How did your dream originate? How has it evolved?

Andrew Skurka: My backpacking dreams evolve every few years. Early on, I wanted to hike as many long trails as I could, and to do it fast and light. Now, I’m more interested in shorter, more intense trips that are largely off-trail. This shift is directly related to my learning, or lack thereof. When I’m not being challenged by what I’m doing, I change it up.

SDB: What makes you most proud of your long distance hiking feats?

Andrew Skurka: I’m most proud of how smoothly most of my trips go. I attribute this to extensive pre-trip research and planning, which ensures that my plan is feasible and that I’m as prepared for it as possible. If I’ve put in the time beforehand, there are fewer unexpected events.

SDB: What have been the biggest obstacles or challenges to realizing your dreams?

Andrew Skurka: The biggest obstacle to my dreams was the unconventional lifestyle that I had to live. I don’t have a conventional job, and for a long time did not live like a normal adult: no permanent address, little income, no long-term relationships, etc.

SDB: What advice do you have for others in pursuit of their dreams?

Andrew Skurka: There are few substitutes for hard work and persistence.

Brandon Cultra is a captain for Republic Airlines, a regional service for American, United and Delta. This week on Sam’s Dream Blog, Brandon shares about achieving long-awaited dreams, the patience required and why the wait is worth it.

Sam’s Dream Blog: What’s your professional dream? How did your dream originate? How has it evolved?

Brandon Cultra: Based in Columbus, Ohio for the last seven years, I have been building valuable experience. With that said, my professional dream is to fly for American Airlines. And if you want me to be very specific, I want to be based in Miami flying the 757. This would allow me to fly both international and domestic flights, and migrate south of the freezing midwest.

My dream originated when I was about four years old from my dad. He has always had a fascination with flying, and that has been imparted to me. Almost since I could walk, I was learning to fly radio control airplanes with my dad. When I started flying, I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. The airlines were a mystery, and I just knew that I wanted to fly airplanes. Now after eight years of airline experience I know exactly who, where, and what I want to fly.

SDB: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Brandon Cultra: Recently I upgraded from First Officer to Captain. It took eight years for me to have this opportunity, due to forces beyond my control, governing the industry. Most people know that there are two pilots up front in the cockpit. They both are well trained and fully capable of flying the airplane. However, the bulk of the responsibility falls on the captain. He has the final say when it comes to the safety of the flight, and he is the first one people turn to when there is a problem. I am so proud to finally have the privilege of being that person who manages the flight.

SDB: What have been the biggest obstacles or challenges to realizing your dream?

Brandon Cultra: My largest obstacle has been a financial one. Most people think airline pilots make big money, and they would be right when referring to a pilot at United, Delta and American. However, the small regional airlines pay their pilots quite poorly. My first year as an airline pilot I made around sixteen thousand dollars. That was first-year pay, and it did increase over the years as a first officer, but it never exceeded forty thousand a year.

Captains at the regionals do make more. However, it takes about 15 years of service to break the six figure mark, which brings me back to the forces beyond my control. The FAA raised the mandatory retirement age of airline pilots from 60 to 65 years old. This is why I was stuck as a regional First Officer for as long as I was. In years past, people upgraded to Captain in two years or less. Now that the older pilots are starting to retire, the whole industry is back to normal progression. Unlucky timing for me caused the long career stagnation.

SDB: What advice do you have for others in pursuit of their dreams?

Brandon Cultra: For a total of 10 years I waited patiently to advance my career and to finally make a decent wage. I am not looking for sympathy; I was doing what I love to do. Having patience to see my dream out has been extremely difficult. So, my advice to those in the pursuit of their dream is to never give up! Despite the long years of waiting, the future looks bright and I cannot wait to finally realize my dream!

Thanks for reading! Tell me about a dream you are pursuing below in the comments!

At age 16, Jessica Watson became the youngest person ever to sail solo and unassisted around the world. This week on Sam’s Dream Blog, Jessica shares about braving new territory, the importance of a team in your dream pursuits and about overcoming adversity.

Sam’s Dream Blog: What’s your dream for sailing? How did your dream originate? How has it evolved?

Jessica Watson: My family sailed when I was young, but it wasn’t till I was 11 that I dreamt of sailing around the world. I was fascinated by the ocean and wanted to prove what young girls are capable of. These days I love sailing more and more and dream of inspiring more people to give sailing a try.

SDB: What makes you most proud of being the youngest person ever to sail solo and unassisted around the world?

Jessica Watson: Great question. It was a solo voyage around the world, but it took a whole team of people to get safely to the start line. I’m proud of the hard work from all of my team. I’m also proud of how I managed the mental side of the voyage. There were times when I was scared and upset, but most of the time I stayed positive.

SDB: What have been the biggest obstacles or challenges to realizing your dreams? What advice do you have for others in pursuit of their dreams?

Jessica Watson: At first finding the support and funding I needed was hard. Then I actually hit a huge ship just before I set off on the voyage. That was a big setback, but I learned so much from the incident, and it made me stronger. There are lots of things I could say about the determination and persistence it takes to achieve your dreams, but I think the most important part is to take the first step and have the courage to chase your dreams.

Derek Oddo: My professional dream has always been to run a successful business that provides for my family and others.

This dream likely originated as a child. I grew up in a large family with four other siblings where there was no such thing as an allowance. Any discretionary money for baseball cards, video games and other items had to come in large part from money I could scrounge together. I mowed lawns and cleared driveways from a young age. I helped neighbors with tasks they did not want to do, all the while collecting any money I could to buy the same things my friends had. That is not to say my parents did not help, they most certainly did when they were able; it was merely a requirement for me to contribute financially if I truly wanted something.

SDB: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Derek Oddo: The things that give me the greatest satisfaction are old interns who reach out years later to let me know how much I impacted their lives. It is seeing a t-shirt I designed years ago still out and about in the community. It is seeing a logo I designed mounted to the side of a building. Everyone, everywhere, inevitably wants to know that they somehow impacted the world. While these may be minor, they serve as pleasant reminders to stay the course and cause you to realize there are things beyond money that make you appreciate what you do daily.

SDB: What have been the biggest obstacles or challenges to realizing your dream? What advice do you have for others in pursuit of their dreams?

Derek Oddo: The biggest challenges I have faced are those related to changing circumstances. I became a business owner because I like knowing the decisions I have made or have not made are impacting my bottom line directly. The realization, though, is that I am at the mercy of a number of factors. And as sure as night and day, life will always be there to throw you curveballs.

The best advice I can give to dreamers like myself is to remain nimble, to remain hungry, and to always move forward. Always seek to improve on something every day.

SDB: What steps have you taken to get to where you are presently?

Derek Oddo: Many, many little steps. The two largest being sacrifice and a willingness to execute. Everyone has dreams. Every single one of us. These are as simple as daydreaming about a new car, to something more complex like trying to impact your family generationally.

The only difference that separates the dreamers from the doers is execution. It’s taking those small, tangible steps in the direction of achieving these dreams, regardless of how crazy those around you might think you are.

Along the way, you will be called to sacrifice. Sometimes, these sacrifices are easy, like skipping a night out with friends to be up early for a meeting with a new client. Other times, they are far greater.

It is too easy today to get caught up in instant gratification. We hope to see immediate results, and sometimes we can realize our dreams quickly. But, for the great dreamers, it often takes years for the seeds we plant to become fruitful. It is why it is important to stay the course.